The Third Rule of Time Travel is “The traveler has no ability to interact with the world they have traveled to…” But is the converse also true?
Beth is a scientist who, with her recently deceased husband Colson, has developed the world’s first Time Machine. It does have a few challenges. First, each trip can only go to a random moment in the traveler’s past. Second, each trip only lasts 90 seconds. Despite these issues, a multimillionaire tech bro has decided to finance Beth and Colson’s research. However, Beth begins to see disturbing effects after returning from her time travels. Is there an even larger problem with the machine?
The Third Rule of Time Travel starts out at a leisurely pace explaining Beth’s home life. However, at about a third into the book, the pacing speeds up and the book seems more like a thriller than a science fiction read. Twists in the plot abound and Beth, and the reader, don’t know who to trust. The conclusion returns to the science with a vengeance. I found the ending rather unbelievable until reading the acknowledgements stating that the science was validated by NASA. Who knew relativity could be so convoluted?
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I believe that fans of both thrillers and science fiction will also enjoy it for its unique take on the well-trodden tropes of time travel fiction. 4 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an advanced review copy.